You might not be familiar with the name TCL, but they’re one of China’s largest television manufacturers. In fact, they’re the people who will be cranking out the new Uppleva TVs for Ikea. That makes today’s news from Hillcrest Labs all the more interesting: TCL has signed on to use Hillcrest’s Freespace MotionEngine gesture recognition technology in its Android-powered TVs.

Now, Ikea didn’t specifically say that their new Smart TVs would be running Android, but it’s a good possibility if TCL is building them. The arrow-wrapped remote in Hillcrest’s press release bears some resemblance to the one used by the presenter in Ikea’s Uppleva introduction video. TCL and Ikea are definitely shipping a browser on the new TVs, and browsing without some kind of pointing device would be a pretty unpleasant experience — and not one that you would expect from a company that prides itself on ease of assembly and use.

TCL’s Warren Wang stated that they’re using Freespace in the company’s VL7500 Smart TV, and they’ve signed a worldwide license with Hillcrest to use it in other current and future models as well. As for whether the Uppleva line is getting gesture-friendly remotes? We’ll just have to wait for the European launch later this year — or for a second video from the folks at Ikea.

It’s not just TCL that has tapped Hillcrest Labs in recent months. Freespace popped up somewhere else, too: LG’s new G2 series Google TV. The remote received plenty of praise from those who got to try it out at Internet Week in New York, especially for its precise control over the cursor.